Learning From the Very Best
by Natasa
Summary: After the final battle with the First, Faith gets a new watcher. Only this one’s a bit different from the others.
1. Default Chapter

Summary: After the final battle with the First, Faith gets a new watcher. Only this one's a bit different from the others.

Disclaimer: Buffy and Angel belong to Joss, I'm just borrowing. Greek Gods belong to all of us interested in Greek mythology, but I like the actors who portrayed them in Xena so I'm going with that.

Paring: None for now, maybe later someone falls in love, don't know yet.

Spoilers: Angel after S4, Buffy after S7, Xena none, just borrowed the Gods and put them in today's world (with witches and watchers and vampires).

Ratings: I'm guessing R for language or something like that.

AN: I haven't seen anything after S3 of Angel, so I'm going completely on what I've read and that ain't much. No Spike returning here, I love him but it would be a bit crowded. Xena never killed any God, or better yet they found the way to return from the dead and maybe I'll go back to that latter on.

AN2: This being my first fic and English not being my first language, be gentile with me. And send some feedback if this story makes any sense.

It's been 6 months since Sunnydale disappeared.

Survivors spent the next few days in a hotel a few miles south. With limited money resources, sleeping arrangements ended with four people in every room. Guys took one, Dawn and new slayers took another three, which left one room for Buffy, Faith, Willow and Kennedy.

First two days were spent mostly sleeping and recovering from the whole ordeal. When the wounds were heeled and everyone had their share of sleep, spirits started to lift especially among the new girls. They were now able to consider the changes that took place a few days ago without being in life-threatening situation. They started exploring their new found strength, sharpened senses and small but important fighting experience. The mood in general improved significantly.

Buffy and Faith, though sharing a bed, were still on less then friendly terms. The whole deal of stopping the apocalypse having much smaller impact on them then on others. Buffy was still silently grieving for Spike, avoiding any communication with anyone unless it was absolutely necessary.

Faith on the other hand, started to think about going back to LA. She knew that now that the fight was over, Angel will need her much more than Buffy and the gang. And honestly, being around Angel, Gun and even Wesley was far better then being near Buffy when she was in one of her moods.

Few days later Giles told the group that he made contact with the remained Council members. After everything that had happened, it was arranged for the whole group to be transferred to England where they could decide what to do next. Using financial assets from Council's accounts they could open the first school for slayers where the girls can train and learn how to live with the new twist in their young lives.

Seeing her chance to flee with a better excuse then avoiding Buffy's company, Faith informed the group about her plans on going to LA, saying it was much safer then facing the Council again, regardless of how reformed they were now. After a lot of whining and protesting, most done by Dawn and the young slayers, she succeeded in convincing them it was the best way. Especially since Angel used his new position as head of W&H to make her police record disappear.

That was six months ago. Since then Faith has been living a very much peaceful life. Well as peaceful as it gets when you're a slayer working for a soled vampire, killing demons on nightly bases. But she was relaxed and happy, and for Faith that meant a lot.

"So, I was planning on going to the east part of the town tonight. There are some abandoned buildings isolated from the neighborhood. Perfect place for Haustor demon's nest."

"Cool, you want me to come along, or do I get the day off?" Faith asked sitting across from Angel in his well-furnished, spacious office, playing with the axe and twirling it between fingers.

"Well, actually…" Angel was looking at his hands intensely trying to say what he knew he had to say.

Faith picked up on the uncertainty in his voice and looked up at him questioningly. "Actually…?"

He took a deep, unnecessary breath before continuing. "I had a phone call from Giles this morning" he saw her expression changing from curious to apprehensive and he knew she would like the rest of the story even less. "He said the school for slayers was working nicely. The Council has been completely reformed and they had made a new rulebook to adjust to the changes made."

"Great, I'm really happy for them and all, but what the fuck does that have to do with me, and judging by your facial expression it has something to do with me."

"One of the new rules is that every slayer who for any reason isn't able to attend the school must have a personal watcher assigned to her." Faith started to speak but Angel held up his hand. "Before you say anything, I know you've been a slayer much longer than those kids, and that your experience with watchers is less then pleasant, and that working with me and Wes is in a way like having a watcher, but…" he made a pause before continuing "but think about the girls in that school Faith. They need something to guide them. They need to see that all those rules are made to help them, not to restrain them. And what better way to prove that then show them that you and Buffy play by the same rules." He finished looking pleadingly at her.

"So you're saying that B agreed to this?" Faith asked looking unconvinced.

"She started training with Giles five times a week."

"And since Wes is too occupied with fighting demons, I'm guessing they decided to send someone over to work with me." she said sulking even more.

"That was what they were planning to do, but I convinced them that it would be better if I found you a new watcher myself."

"And they said yes?" Faith asked skeptically. Angel nodded his head. "So I'm again guessing you have someone in mind." Another nod. "Who is he?"

"SHE is a very old friend of mine."

"Very old as in you two go way back, or very old as in she walks with a cane?"

"As in we go way back and although she's older than me she walks just fine without a cane."

"Oh that's comforting."

"Anyway, I've talked to her a few days ago and called her right after my conversation with Giles. She's in the States right now and she said she'd like very much to meet you. I've invited her to come to tea this afternoon."

"So another representative of the old English school. Does she wear glasses and tweed suits too?"

"Actually, she's from Greece. No, no glasses or tweed suits."

"So what's with tea."

"Well I thought about offering coffee, but considering Harmony will be the one making it, I just thought tea would be harder to screw up." He made a face remembering last people who tried her coffee. No wonder they were scared to death of coming to the office again.

Faith chuckled missing the sound of the office door opening and Harmony letting a woman in.

"So anyway, does this watcher chick have a name?"

"Well presuming that I'm this watcher chick you just mentioned, my name is Tina." said the woman with a small grin gracing her lips.

Faith spun around and looked at the newcomer, cursing silently for letting her guard down and failing to notice the door open.

"I'm a bit early, but I finished what I had with a lot less difficulty then I expected. Hope you don't mind." she said as she crossed the office and hugged Angel.

"Of course not. It's good to see you again. It's been ages since the last time we met."

"Yeah, literary. So I presume this is Faith?" she asked turning to Faith.

"Oh, sorry. Yes, this is Faith. Faith this is, um Tina." he said looking at the woman dubiously.

She just smiled wider "Well it's nice to finally meet you. I've heard much about you."

For her part, Faith stood frozen. Ever since she laid eyes on this woman, she was unable to look anywhere else. There was something unearthly about her whole presence. She was in early or mid thirties, but still beautiful. She was a bit shorter then Faith, with auburn hair and piercing gray eyes. But it wasn't her appearance that captivated Faith. It was power and strength that simply radiated from her. She looked like she could take control over the whole world with just one glance, without fearing that anyone would dare to try to stop her. For some reason, the only word she could find that would do justice to this creature was a goddess. So she just stood there and stared open-mouthed.

"Well, looks like you've made quite an impression." Angel said with a smile.

TBC?


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for not updating, but I kind gave up on the original plot so I just decided to go with a flow. Tell me what ya think.

"Well, since Faith doesn't seem to be in a talkative mood at the moment, how about I ask for that tea and you can fill me in what you've been doing for the past few years." Angel said, still amused by the look on Faith's face.

"Only if you explain how exactly you ended up as the head of the most powerful demon-dealing law firm in LA. When you said you were running a firm, I was expecting something like 'Heroes anonymous', you know, 'helping people from the shadows, running through the sewers on daily bases'. But this, I must admit if there was one thing I didn't expect, it would be seeing you sitting in a comfy office, telling your secretary to bring tea. I'm impressed."

Faith, who had in the meantime gotten out of her trancelike state, was slowly returning to the present. Having missed a good part of conversation she had no idea what they were talking about.

"… so Cordelia was about to give birth…" He was interrupted by the doors opening, but instead of Harmony, Wesley walked in.

"Angel, sorry to interrupt but I've got a problem." He looked at the women sitting in the office and nodded his head before disappearing behind the door.

"Ok, sorry about this, I'll be right back. Why don't you two get to know each other while I'm gone." He said getting up from his chair and heading for the door.

Silence settled in after Angel closed the door, with both women assessing the other. While the small, intriguing smile never left the older woman's lips, Faith was getting more uncomfortable by the moment.

"You don't look especially pleased to meet me." Tina said in a voice that carried more curiosity than hurt.

"Sorry, not that big on trusting Watchers. Bad experience n' all."

"Really? Angel didn't mention anything about it. Actually he didn't say anything except he had a Slayer who needs a Watcher. I must say I was a bit surprised that he asked me."

"Why, I thought you two were like old buddies or something?"

"We _are_ old friends, but I'm not exactly a Watcher. I have some experience with training people to fight but that was some years ago." 'Some centuries ago would be more accurate' Tina thought with a smile.

"So you're not Council's dog. What are you then?" Faith asked, inwardly feeling a bit better knowing she wasn't speaking to a Council member.

"Well, I _have_ been changing professions in the last few…years. But for the sake of simplicity let's just say I'm a writer"

Judging by the incredulous look on Faith's face, it wasn't the answer she was expecting.

"So what ya sayin 's not only had Angel found me a fuckin Agatha Christie for a Watcher, but that G-man said yes to it?"

This only provoked a small chuckle from the woman. "First of all, I don't write detective fiction. I'm more philosophically and historically inclined. And second, I'm not quite sure who this 'G-man' is but I'm going to take a wild guess and say he is part of Watchers Council?" After Faith's nod she continued "I am rather certain that Angel had no problem convincing anyone in England that I am more than qualified for the job." She watched in amusement as the younger woman's brows slowly furrowed.

"Not to sound completely retarded here, but I'm not sure I get it." Faith said, trying to understand why Giles would agree to this. The only possible reason she could find was that he thought she needed therapy and he and Angel arranged for some Freud wannabe to come and work with her. The woman did say she was 'philosophically inclined' and had changed a few jobs. Maybe she tried the shrink gig, didn't like it and decided to write a book. Like '101 reason why not to become a psychiatrist'. And when that flopped they sent her to another lost cause, that'd be yours truly. 'Fuck, I just created a Mexican soap. Gotta stop thinking so much. Ok, she's talking and I zoomed out again. So much for not looking retarded'

"…but certainly, I am not expecting you to take my word for it." Tina finished looking at a distracted Slayer. "So, if you'd like we could have a training session, let's say Friday afternoon?"

After a few minutes, Faith gave up on trying to remember what was said before the training session part and just went along with the offer. "Yeah, why not." she said, again doubting Angel's great wisdom.

Just then the broody Vampire walked back in the room. "Sorry that took so long. I hope there weren't any problems." He said looking from one woman to the other, noticing Tina's ironic smile and Faith's doubtful expression.

"Of course not. We even arranged a workout." Tina said getting up.

"You're not going already?" Angel said clearly disappointed.

"I have a few more places I have to visit, but it was good seeing you again." She shook his hand and turned to the Slayer "Faith, it's been a pleasure meeting you. I'll come by on Friday around 4 and we'll see how it goes." Giving her another smile she turned back to the Vampire who was already at her side. "We'll finish our conversation then."

"Great, thanks again. This really means a lot." He said opening the door for her. Just then Harmony came in with two steaming mugs. She set them on the table and left the office without a word.

"Well, so much for the tea. Probably safer anyway." He added the last part more to himself, but Tina had no problem hearing it. On her raised eyebrow he only shook his head and smiled a bit. "I'll see you tomorrow." Whit that the woman left the office and Angel went back to his chair.

"Sooo, what do you think?" Angel asked excitedly.

The look Faith gave him clearly said what she thought of her new Watcher.

"Oh, you'll love her. I promise." He said with absolute certainty that left the Slayer confused and wondering what to expect from the meeting.

"So, I was like 'Honey, do you have any idea who you're talking to?' and he was like 'Well, I thought I was talking to my girlfriend, but I could be wrong!' and then I told him 'Sugar, I'm a goddess of love. It wouldn't be fair of me to give myself to only one man.' and then he just gives me this incredulous look like I'm a nutcase or somethin, and then he just turns and walks out. I'm telling you I was this close to using my powers and making him get on his knees and beg for forgiveness. I mean please, _he_ dumped _me_!" The rest of Aphrodite's monologue was cut short by Athena coming in the room.

"Hey sis, whatcha doing here. I thought you were across the ocean helping that hunky Vampire. Now that's a body that can make your heart go wild. Shame that his heart doesn't work that well." Aphrodite said with a frown, already thinking of the ways she could get the brooding Vampire's blood to run hot again. "You know we could use our _powers_ and give that muscular body of his some nice tone." She said twirling her golden curls.

This only earned her a look from Artemis who was lying on the sofa watching TV and an inpatient sigh from Athena. "Aphrodite, I'm really not in the mood for another fight right now."

"Don't be too tough on her sis. She'd just gone through an earth-shattering experience." Artemis said returning her attention back to Animal Planet.

"What happened?"

"She got dumped." The goddess of hunt said not concealing her amusement.

"Gee, thanks sis. Remind me to laugh my cute little butt off next time one of those rain forests disappears." Aphrodite said, hurt clearly evident in her voice.

"Ok, that's enough, both of you." Athena said taking control of the situation that could easily turn into another heated argument. "There are some things we need to discus. That's why I'm here."

"Well, it _would_ be too much to think you actually came to see us."

"Aphrodite, I'm serious."

"Yeah, well so am I. I mean, you don't visit, you don't call, you don't even write. Actually the only time I see you is when I drop by your place and even than you are too busy with writing another book or getting ready for some medical convention or something. You know, when was the last time we really talked. And I don't mean like chit-chat. I mean had an actual conversation. And it's not like there aren't things to discuss. Take that fashion show I went to last week. I mean, only a blind person could wear those clothes, and that designer, we're talking major wisdom shortage here. So it's not like we don't have common topics. And all I'm asking for is a bit of your precious time, like once a week…"

"I sincerely doubt that 'a bit' of my time would be enough for any significant conversation, since it usually requires _two_ people talking. With you, somehow it always turns into an endless monologue. Now, the reason I'm here." She continued, effectively ignoring the pout that was forming on Aphrodite's beautiful face. "How much do you know about the new Watchers Council?"

"It's better than the old one." Artemis said intrigued by the question. She turned the TV off and focused on her sister. "Why do you ask?"

"Angel wants me to work with one of the Slayers. He said Council had already approved it."

"Really? I thought neither of you were allowed to interfere with their training." Aphrodite said while Artemis just looked confused by the news.

"Yes, well I was fairly surprised by his request. I thought you made some arrangement with them."

"No, I haven't even met the Watcher in charge. I did talk to a few friends after the fall of Hellmouth, and they all said that Rupert Giles was surprisingly pleasant to work with."

"G-man" Athena muttered, shaking her head at Artemis' questioning look. "Would you mind arranging an appointment with him?"

"Yeah, I was planning to do that anyway. You have some particular subject you want me to discus."

"Not really, just try to convince him to let you get involved with the training again. Oh, and take Aphrodite with you." At this both sisters gave her confused looks.

"There's one thing buggin me." Faith said swinging her axe and killing yet another redheaded demon. "You said she's older then you. What the fuck does that mean. I mean I know makeup does wonders, but she's not lookin 300 years old. And I didn't pick any demon vibe of her, so what's that shit 'bout?" She ducked just in time to avoid a blade that went over her head. A roundhouse kick and a fist between the eyes sent the last Haustor demon toward Angel.

"She's not a demon." He said catching the disoriented creature and finishing him off with a sword. "But I think she should be the one to explain it. All I can say is she's on our side so you don't have to worry. And I guarantee you there is a lot you can learn from her. Just give her a chance." He said looking around the warehouse they had just redecorated. "I think we're finished here."

Faith was about to confirm it when another demon jumped her from behind. She flipped him over her shoulder throwing him into the nearby row of boxes. Before he could get up, she hurled the axe almost splitting him in half. "Don't know Big Guy, think I'm five by five myself. Don't see why I need to _learn_ more. Education not really my gig ya know."

"Faaiith!" He said in a pleading voice.

"'Kay, 'kay, don't lose your cool Dead Boy. I'mma give her a chance. But I'm only doin this for you!" She added pointing a finger at the Vampire. This only provoked a smile from Angel and despite herself, Faith smiled back.

"Great! Come on, I'll buy you dinner. You are hungry, right?" Angel asked jokingly.

"Hey, you know me. After a good slay I'm always hungry an…" She looked over at Angel who was waiting for her to finish the thought. After a short once-over of the Vampire she gave up on her punch line. "Let's just stick to hungry. 'm not in a mood for another chat with your alter ego. Then again, that Watcher chick's kinda cute. Maybe we _could_ find a few things to work on." With a cocky grin she turned around and exited the warehouse, leaving a somewhat baffled Angel to follow her.

"Ok, relying on your great wisdom I'm gonna go on a limb here and say there's a strategy in your madness."

"Hey! I'm in this room too, and I do have feelings, you know!" Aphrodite said throwing a pillow at her sister.

"All right, settle down. And yes, there is a reason I want her there. You know what a mess it was when two Slayers met for the first time and turned against each other. Now imagine all these young girls that have no previous training and have just discovered that they posses special powers. As much as I want to believe that Mr. Giles and his 'Slayers Training Centre' will be able to handle it, I tend to be a bit more realistic. Those girls share a special bond for sure, but there will be a lot of competition, and that means they will be eager to prove themselves. It could result in pushing themselves over the limit in training, or worse, rushing into battles they are not ready for. Like I said, I don't know what Rupert Giles is like, but if he even remotely resembles Quentin Travers then those girls will need all the help they can get."

"Whew, and you say I have long monologues. I mean, at least I talk faster…"

"Aphrodite!" Both Athena and Artemis yelled in exasperation.

"Ok, ok! You don't have to bite my head off. I'll be quiet."

"So, you want me to make sure they have proper training. But I still don't understand what I need Aphrodite for." Artemis said turning toward the love goddess who was sulking in her chair.

"Well, since fashion-shows are so disastrous anyway, I thought she could take some time and talk to the girls. They need some attention and understanding right now, and from what I recall that is your field of expertise" She finished looking at Aphrodite.

"Well yeah. I can _talk_ to them," she emphasized the word staring at Athena, "but without my powers I can't do much more than that."

"That will have to do for now."

"So while we're in England what will you be doing?"

"I'm going back to LA tomorrow. I'll work with Faith for a while, see how good she is. Then I'll see if she would consider going to England."

"Faith as in the rough Slayer? I wasn't aware you were talking about her. Why do you want her in England?" Artemis asked intrigued by the new discovery.

"She and Buffy Summers are among the longest living Slayers in history. I think they could both be good examples for the new girls."

"But from what I've heard those two chicks have some serious issues to work through themselves. It's not like they're poster-girls for best buddies." Aphrodite said.

"I know. That is why I want to get to know Faith first. Then I'll see if I can get her to open up and talk about it. I'm certainly not gonna send her there before we solve the problem." She stood up and looked at her sisters. "So, now that this is over, how about I take the two of you to dinner and you can tell me all about the lack of fashion sense nowadays." This brought a magnificent smile on Aphrodite's face and she wasted no time telling her sisters which restaurants have the cutest waiters. Athena and Artemis just chuckled and followed their babbling sibling out of the house.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I thought about dropping this story but since I already wrote a part of this chapter I just finished it. Don't know if I'm gonna go on with it though.

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"Oh fuck!" Faith yelled getting up from the floor. "Beginner's luck my ass!" That was the third time the woman had knocked her down. Yes, she was blindfolded, but she was a Slayer for fuck's sake. Why the hell wasn't she sensing her attacks faster? After the first time she just assumed she wasn't concentrated enough, so she got up and focused on the exercise. The second time she couldn't stop the curse falling from her lips. Asking how she did that only provoked a small chuckle from Tina and a lighthearted response of "Beginner's luck".

But that was before Faith found herself on the floor again. This was quickly becoming the most embarrassing practice she ever had. The woman was good; better then good to be honest. She moved without a sound, even for Faith's enhanced slayer hearing. She was obviously a nice strategist. Whenever the Slayer thought she figured out all of her tactics, her Watcher would produce a completely new one. And the next thing she knew, her back would make a loud contact with the ground.

After the fourth and the fifth time this happened Faith lost it. Getting back on her feet, she took the blindfold off and glared at the woman standing in front of her. "What the fuck are you!" Before Tina had the chance to answer the Slayer went on. "Don't even think of saying human! I know what humans are capable of and everything you did in the last hour and a half goes way beyond that." After letting another irritated breath she continued, talking more to herself then her companion. For her part Tina just smiled and let the girl fume. "I mean I would sense if you were a demon. Or at least I _think_ I would. After today I wouldn't be surprised if all my senses had gone to hell. Maybe that's your doing, screwing up my slayer powers. Fuck, I can't believe I'm babbling. I'm starting to sound like Red, or B. Fuck!" She sucked in a lung full of air and exhaled slowly. When she felt marginally calmer she forced her attention back on her new Watcher.

"The tirade over?" Tina asked not showing any obvious emotion. Feeling a bit embarrassed Faith just nodded her head. "Good. As much as you want to know the whole story, I think I'll leave it for another time. For now, all you need to know is that your senses are working just fine. And while I'm not exactly human, I'm not a demon either." The quiet buzzing from Tina's bag stopped any other comment. She went over and took out a small golden cell-phone. Looking at the caller's ID she turned to Faith "I have to take this one. Go wait for me in Angel's office." With that she walked away from the Slayer.

Faith shook her head and went to take a shower. This was probably the shortest training she had and still she felt every muscle in her body scream with exhaustion. Plus she felt kinda crappy for pissing the woman off. Was it so important what she was? She's been pretty cool since the moment they met, and besides, Angel wouldn't have called her if she was a threat in any way. Why didn't she just except the fact that she was a worthy opponent and kept her mouth shut? "Now she'll think I have an attitude problem to go with my pathetic combat skills." After thinking about what she'd just said, she chuckled a little. "Since when's my attitude not been a problem? And for fuck's sake, why do I care so much what she thinks?"

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"So, how was the work-out?" Angel asked as soon as the Slayer closed the door behind her.

"Well, after today, I'd expect her to put a stake through your heart for wasting her time." Faith said sinking in a comfy chair.

"Why? What did you do?"

"Nothin. I think that's kinda the whole point. She kicked my butt royally."

"Oh, come on. I'm sure it's not that bad." he said trying to cheer her up.

"Angel, all the guys I screwed _combined_ didn't keep me on my back that long! God, this is such a disaster." After releasing a frustrated sigh she heard a faint sound of approaching footsteps. There was a light tap on the door and Tina walked in.

"Sorry, that was an important call" she said taking a seat next to Faith. Looking across the desk at Angel she added "and it's something I'd like to discuss with you later if you don't mind."

Before the Vampire could answer Faith stood up. "Ya know what, I'm gonna go take a walk. Breathe some fresh air, kill a few vamps, and you two can have your talk." With that she went for the door.

"Faith." Tina waited till the girl turned around "Could you postpone your patrol for a while. I would very much like to go with you tonight."

'Great. She didn't humiliate me enough earlier. Now she's saying I shouldn't go slaying alone. Just fuckin great!' Although she was fairly sure she kept her expression neutral, her prolonged pause caused both Angel and Tina to raise their eyebrows in question. "Cours. I'll just go and see what Harmony's up to." She said a bit too sweetly. She turned around and quietly left the office.

"Faith!" She was greeted by a very exited Fred and always cool looking Gun. "Is the training over? How was it? Was she ok? You didn't hurt her, right? Cause she's a watcher, and I know you don't like watchers but maybe she's a good watcher, like Wesley or Mr. Giles, you know. And you should at least give her a chance…"

"And maybe you should make a quick stop and breathe in some air honey." Gun said putting a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder.

"Oh, right. Sorry. So how was it then?" She asked not taking her eyes off the dark Slayer.

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After watching the door for a moment longer, Tina turned to Angel, smile gracing her lips.

"So I take it you're not angry?" Angel asked slightly relieved at the notion.

"Why would I be angry?" The Goddess asked honestly surprised.

"Well, Faith thinks the training was a disaster. She's convinced she disappointed you on so many levels you'll just take your frustration out on me." After a shared chuckle he turned serious again "So your overall impression of her isn't that bad?"

"Actually, it's not bad at all. She has excellent instincts and reflexes, her fighting skills are well developed and her wild temper that I heard so much about is either exaggerated or nicely tamed. Either way, she has admirable control and concentration. She has all the components of a great Slayer. They just need a bit of polishing."

"Excellent. But I'm guessing you didn't tell her who you are."

"No, and I don't intend to. At least not for a while." After repositioning herself slightly in the chair, Tina went on "That's the thing I want to work on the most. I want her to learn to read her opponents while confronting them. She needs to start thinking while fighting, not just going on her previous experience and training."

"What about the whole 'Watchers do the research, Slayers do the fighting' rule? Isn't that the whole point of Watcher-Slayer relationship?" Angel asked confused.

"Well yes. That would be the traditional way of the Council. But I highly doubt you'd call me if you wanted a standard Watcher." They both shared a smile at that. "Honestly Angel, you know I never liked their way of doing things. They were creating mindless killing machines whose sole purpose in life was to fight till they die. That's the last thing I want for Faith. I want her to use her own head. She needs guidance, not control."

"Yeah, I agree." Thinking for a second he nodded his head "All right, I'll leave it in your capable hands. But just have one thing in mind. She might look tough on the outside, but underneath she's very emotional. And her self-esteem was never very high so…"

"So I won't bully her if she makes a mistake and I'll be more than happy to commend her if she does well. Will you stop worrying so much?" She asked laughing.

"Fine, fine! If you insist!" The brooding expression might've been more convincing if there wasn't a slight curving of his lips. "Enough of that. What was the phone call about?"

"Artemis. She and Aphrodite went to England to talk to the head of the Council, Rupert Giles if I'm not mistaking." After getting a confirmative nod she continued "I want to see if anything's changed since Travers. The balance between good and evil has gone to hell after that spell so I'm guessing those girls will need lots of people in their corner."

"Hmm, you and Artemis want to help training them?"

"I'm sure Artemis wants it. I'll stick to one slayer for the time being. But we are probably going to need help convincing Mr. Giles to go along with it. I understand they didn't have a pleasant experience encountering a Goddess before."

Grimacing slightly Angel nodded. "I get your point. I'll call Giles and see what I can do."

"Great! Well, I think I left our young friend to brood long enough. I should really get going before she decides I'm just not worth the wait."

Smiling, Angel followed her to the door.

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Despite herself Faith was beginning to feel a bit better. This was what she always craved for. To have someone who would support her even when she wasn't at her best. All the time she spent in Sunnydale, watching Buffy and the Scoobies, she never felt as part of the group. Even the last time, before the fight with the First, she felt more like a third wheel. She knew she was there just to be a backup for Buffy but it still hurt. But for these people she was _the_ Slayer. Even when she screwed up, she was still the one and only. It was a new and strange experience and she was just learning to enjoy it.

This was her group, these people were her friends and they were doing their best to cheer her up. Even Harmony sitting at her desk, filling her nails. She was a poor replacement for Queen C but she was trying her best to fit in. And maybe that was the whole point. They were all outsiders one way or the other. They weren't old friends from childhood, or best buddies sworn to fight side by side. They were outcasts thrown on the same road, former enemies forced to become allies. None of them was perfect, so none of them expected perfection from the others. For Faith not being constantly reminded of past sins was more then she would dare ask for. And the true compassion she felt from the Fang Gang was a pure bonus. With these people, maybe for the first time in her life, she felt truly at home.

"Oh, come on. I'm sure it's not that bad. And I'm sure there is a good side to all of this that you just can't see at the moment." Fred said trying to stay positive.

"Oh, I can see the good side!" When she was sure she had everyone's attention Harmony continued "After today she'll think you're a complete loser, so whatever you do, it can't get any worse then that." She finished proudly, surprised by the murderous looks Fred and Gun were throwing her way. "What?"

"Well that's one way to look at it. I doubt even I can fuck this up more then I already did." The Slayer said leaning on the edge of Harmony's desk.

"That's soooo not what I meant!" Fred whined glaring at Harmony.

Faith just chuckled. "Relax girl. I'll get myself outa this somehow. For now I'll do my best and keep my mouth shut and we'll see how it goes."

"Yes, and if that doesn't work, you can always go back to your 'get some, get gone' philosophy." Harmony said not taking her eyes of her nails. "Since you already think she's so hot, you can just screw her brains out and skip town afterwards."

Laughing at this Faith was about to answer the blonde Vampire when she noticed Fred and Gun frantically shaking their heads. After hearing a discreet cough, she turned to face the duo standing behind her. The Slayer couldn't really read their expressions so she just averted her eyes downward and took a deep calming breath. 'Guess I _can_ fuck it up more after all.'

"Ok, well we should really be going. We have things to do, places to be, demons to kill." Gun was saying ushering a red-faced Fred out of the room. "See ya later Faith. And good luck." He added before finally disappearing.

"I need to get this to Wesley to sign, really urgent, no time to waste." Harmony grabbed the first file she could find and practically ran for Wesley's office.

"Well, since I'm absolutely sure you know what you're doing, I'll just leave you to it. Faith, have fun slaying tonight." Whit that Angel made two steps back and closed the door to his office.

'So much for the friendly support' Faith thought keeping her eyes down. She knew that if she were to look up she would see a very pissed off and disappointed Watcher. It was the image she already had engraved in her memory from all the other people she failed. She didn't need another reminder.

"And then there was one." She heard her new Watcher say with such an obvious amusement that she risked a glance at the woman. To her surprise, she found a warm smile and a pair of caring eyes looking back at her.

"What on earth am I going to do with you, child?" Tina asked not really expecting an answer. 'This is certainly going to be an interesting challenge.' She thought looking at a confused Slayer who suddenly looked much younger without her cocky grin and bad girl attitude.

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